smart casual clothes for a man not designer not cheap timeless - any thoughts?

[blimey]

My first ever style and beauty thread as I am very clueless and have little time to learn at the mo but would love to! But in the interests of helping my man I would love some advice from the wise ladeez and gents of mumsnet on this issue. Any ethical brands even better!

I did think the chinos might be a bit too old for you! DH also has some great linen shirts from Uniqlo which are really useful and have lasted well too.

talbot, great tip about the sample sales, thanks so much.

timeless = crap
nothing is timeless

You're misreading it. Obviously nothing is totally timeless, apart from maybe a vest, but if you're not looking for actual fashion, just for something that will make you a little more stylish and a little more confident and a little better dressed then there are plenty of things that you can buy and keep wearing for five or ten or twenty years and still look great in them.

Disagree entirely on your timeless point MI. I have a lot of clothes from designers like Marni and Prada that I have been wearing for over 10 years. Good design is good design. It's all about finding soemthing beautifully cut that is flattering and makes you feel great.

I think you are kidding yourself. Buttons, lapels, lenght it all changes

Well I think you're wrong. Look at "Le Smoking" by YSL, still going strong more than 40 years later as are Hermes Birkin bags and thousands of other iconic designs.

The key thing is to find a shape and cut that suits you. Bianca Jagger's wedding outfit to Mick Jagger would look fab still today. Why's that? Because its beautifully made and it suits her.

but the cut of the trousers would still change woudln't they? Lower waist etc

Yes but the point is to wear the cut that suits you. No point wearing low cut trousers if your belly hangs over the top for example.

no but for eg in teh 80s i wore higher cut trousers.
they looked fine.
I would have looked an utter nutter in bootleg/skinny then.
so fashion always has SOME influence.

I have loads of things that I bought 20+ years ago which are all going strong. Yes, some trousers etc would look mad today. But I have coats (thinking particularly of a wonderful bright red flared Harris tweed thing I have), knitwear (mainly good quality cashmere or cotton in plainish styles), trousers (tailored plain styles with fairly straight legs) that all look as good as the day I bought them. Honestly, they do. They were all quite expensive to begin with, though, which probably makes a difference. God, I used to spend a fortune on clothes in the 80s!

Zara for knitwear and shirts. Also French Connection. Have a look at Peter Werth www.peterwerth.co.uk if you are near an Envy store or House of Fraser.